Semiconductor Constructions

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments include methods of forming capacitors. A first section of a capacitor may be formed to include a first storage node, a first dielectric material, and a first plate material. A second section of the capacitor may be formed to include a second storage node, a second dielectric material, and a second plate material. The first and second sections may be formed over a memory array region, and the first and second plate materials may be electrically connected to first and second interconnects, respectively, that extend to over a region peripheral to the memory array region. The first and second interconnects may be electrically connected to one another to couple the first and second plate materials to one another. Some embodiments include capacitor structures, and some embodiments include methods of forming DRAM arrays.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Semiconductor constructions, methods of forming capacitors, and methodsof forming DRAM arrays.

BACKGROUND

Semiconductor devices are commonly utilized for data storage andprocessing. The data storage may utilize an array of memory devices.Some memory devices are particularly well-suited for long-term storageof data, while others are better suited for rapid reading and writing(in other words, rapid access). Among the memory devices that areparticularly well-suited for rapid access are dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM) devices. A DRAM unit cell may include a transistor incombination with a capacitor.

A continuing goal of semiconductor fabrication is to reduce the amountof semiconductor real estate consumed by various components to therebyincrease integration. It is, however, difficult to reduce the amount ofsemiconductor real estate consumed by a capacitor while stillmaintaining desired levels of capacitance. Some methods for reducing theamount of real estate consumed by capacitors, while maintaining desiredlevels of capacitance, include forming the capacitors to be increasinglythinner and taller.

A capacitor may be formed by patterning an opening in a templatematerial, filling the opening with storage node material, and thenremoving the template material to leave a capacitor storage nodecomprising the storage node material. The capacitor storage node may beshaped as a pillar projecting upwardly from a semiconductor substrate.Subsequently, capacitor dielectric material may be formed across thepillar, and capacitor plate material may be formed across the capacitordielectric material. The capacitor plate material, capacitor dielectricmaterial, and storage node may together form a capacitor.

Difficulties occur as capacitors become thinner and taller in that itbecomes increasingly difficult to pattern openings in a templatematerial, and increasingly difficult to fill the openings with capacitorstorage node material. Additionally, there is increasing risk that thetall, thin capacitor storage nodes will tip, and possibly topple, beforethe capacitor dielectric material and capacitor plate material can beformed to provide support to the tall, thin capacitor storage nodes.

It is desired to develop improved methods for forming tall, thincapacitors; and to develop improved capacitor constructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, cross-sectional view of a pair of fragments ofa semiconductor construction at a processing stage of an embodiment.

FIGS. 2-22 are views of the fragments of FIG. 1 shown at variousprocessing stages of an embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a view along the line 23-23 of FIG. 22, and the view of FIG.22 is along the line 22-22 of FIG. 23.

FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic view of a computer embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing particular features of themotherboard of the FIG. 24 computer embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a high level block diagram of an electronic systemembodiment.

FIG. 27 is a simplified block diagram of a memory device embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments include methods in which pillar capacitors are formedby stacking sections (or segments) of the capacitors on top of oneanother to achieve very high aspect ratio capacitors. In someembodiments, the pillar capacitors may be considered to comprise moduleswhich are designed so that each time a fabrication process of a moduleis repeated the capacitor gets taller without getting wider. Theembodiments may be utilized to form extremely dense capacitor arrays,and such capacitor arrays may be incorporated into highly integratedDRAM arrays. Although the example embodiments shown in the accompanyingfigures utilize pillar-type capacitor modules, in other embodiments oneor more of the modules may comprise a capacitor storage node unitconfigured as a container, so that at least a portion of the capacitorwill comprise a container-type capacitor segment.

Example embodiments are described with reference to FIGS. 1-27.

Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor construction 10 is shown to bedivided between a first defined segment 5 corresponding to a memoryarray region, and a second defined segment 7 corresponding to a regionperipheral to the memory array region. The region 7 may be referred toas a peripheral region.

Semiconductor construction 10 comprises a base 12 which supports aplurality of transistor constructions 14, 16 and 18.

Base 12 may comprise any suitable semiconductor material, and in someembodiments may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist ofmonocrystalline silicon lightly background-doped with appropriatedopant. The terms “semiconductive substrate,” “semiconductorconstruction” and “semiconductor substrate” mean any constructioncomprising semiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulksemiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone orin assemblies comprising other materials), and semiconductive materiallayers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). Theterm “substrate” refers to any supporting structure, including, but notlimited to, the semiconductive substrates described above. Although base12 is shown to be homogenous, the base may comprise numerous layers insome embodiments. For instance, base 12 may correspond to asemiconductor substrate containing one or more layers associated withintegrated circuit fabrication. In such embodiments, such layers maycorrespond to one or more of metal interconnect layers, barrier layers,diffusion layers, insulator layers, etc.

The transistor constructions 14, 16 and 18 comprise transistor gates 15,17 and 19, respectively, spaced from substrate 12 by gate dielectricmaterial 20. The gate dielectric material may comprise any suitablematerial, and may, for example, comprise, consist essentially of, orconsist of silicon dioxide. The gates 15, 17 and 19 may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions, and may, forexample, comprise electrically conductive material capped byelectrically insulative material. For instance, the gates may compriseone or more of various metals (for instance, tungsten, tantalum,titanium, etc.), metal-containing compositions (for instance, metalnitride, metal silicides, etc.) and conductively-doped semiconductormaterials (for instance, conductively-doped silicon), capped by siliconnitride.

The transistor constructions also comprise electrically insulativespacers 22 along opposing sidewalls of the gates. The spacers 22 maycomprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions; andmay, for example, comprise silicon nitride.

The transistor constructions further comprise source/drain regions 24,26, 28, 30 and 32. Source/drain region 24 is part of transistor 14,source/drain region 28 is part of transistor 16, and source/drainregions 30 and 32 are part of transistor 18. The source/drain region 26is shared by transistors 14 and 16.

The transistor 18 is an example of an electrical component that may beformed over the peripheral region 7. Such electrical components may beutilized in logic or other circuitry for controlling reading and writingof data to memory circuitry ultimately formed over memory array region5. The transistors 14 and 16 are examples of a pair of transistorsconfigured for utilization in a high-density DRAM array, and maycorrespond to NMOS transistors. Ultimately, capacitors are formed inelectrical connection with source/drain regions 24 and 28, a bitline(which may also be referred to as a digit line) is formed in electricalconnection with source/drain region 26, and the gates 15 and 17 are partof wordlines that extend into and out of the page relative to the showncross-sectional view of FIG. 1. The bitline may also be in electricalcontact with source/drain region 32.

Isolation regions 34, 36 and 38 are shown extending into base 12 toelectrically isolate transistors 14, 16 and 18 from other circuitry (notshown) that may be associated with construction 10.

Electrically conductive pillars (or pedestals) 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48 areelectrically connected with source/drain regions 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32.The pillars are optional, and accordingly one or more of the pillars maybe omitted from some embodiments. However, the pillars may simplifyelectrical connection of the source/drain regions to other circuitryformed above the source/drain regions. The pillars 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48may comprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions;and may, for example, comprise one or more of various metals (forinstance, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, etc.), metal-containingcompositions (for instance, metal nitride, metal silicides, etc.) andconductively-doped semiconductor materials (for instance,conductively-doped silicon).

The pillars 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48 are spaced from one another byelectrically insulative material 50. Material 50 may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions; and may, forexample, comprise one or both of silicon dioxide and borophosphosilicateglass (BPSG).

The upper surfaces of pillars 40 and 44 may be considered to be storagenode contact locations, in that capacitor storage nodes are ultimatelyformed to be in electrical contact with such upper surfaces. If pillars40 and 44 are omitted, the upper surfaces of source/drain regions 24 and26 may be the storage node contact locations.

A planarized surface 51 extends across material 50 and pillars 40, 42,44, 46 and 48. Such planarized surface may be formed by, for example,chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). Planarized surface 51 may bereferred to as a first planarized upper surface to distinguish it fromother planarized surfaces provided thereover.

A protective layer 52 is formed over planarized surface 51. Theprotective layer 52 comprises a material 54. Such material may includeany suitable composition or combination of compositions; and may, forexample, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of siliconnitride.

In some embodiments, the bitline referred to above may extend across andin direct contact with upper surfaces of pillars 42 and 48 so that suchupper surfaces contact an electrically conductive bitline (not shown)rather than contacting layer 52. In other embodiments, the bitline (notshown) may extend under or through source/drain regions 26 and 32.

A material 56 is formed over protective layer 52. Material 56 may bereferred to as a template material in that openings are ultimatelyformed in material 56 to create a template for fabrication of capacitorstorage nodes. Alternatively, material 56 may be referred to as a firstmaterial to distinguish material 56 from other template materials thatare subsequently formed over material 56. Material 56 may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions; and may, forexample, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of one or both ofsilicon dioxide, and BPSG. In some embodiments, other doped oxides maybe utilized in addition to, or alternatively to BPSG, with examples ofother doped oxides including phosphosilicate glass (PSG) andfluorosilicate glass (FSG).

Material 56 comprises a planarized upper surface 57. Such planarizedupper surface may result from layer 56 forming conformally across anupper surface of protective layer 52, by reflowing material 56 duringits deposition, and/or from CMP of an upper surface of material 56.Planarized upper surface 57 may be referred to as a second planarizedupper surface to distinguish it from the planarized upper surface 51.

The thickness of material 56 determines a thickness of first modules, orsegments, of capacitors formed over memory array region 5.

An etch stop layer 58 is formed over material 56. Etch stop layer 58comprises a material 60. The material 60 may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions; and may, for example,comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of silicon nitride.

Referring to FIG. 2, openings 62 and 64 are formed over peripheralregion 7. Specifically, the openings are etched through materials 54, 56and 60. The opening 64 extends to an upper surface of pedestal 46, andis thus a contact opening to peripheral circuitry. The opening 62 isultimately utilized for forming an interconnect which will be utilizedto connect capacitor plates in forming a capacitor construction (suchinterconnect is shown in FIG. 22). Opening 62 is thus utilized to formcircuitry that is interconnected with capacitor constructions ultimatelyformed across the memory array region 5, as discussed below.

Openings 62 and 64 may be formed utilizing any suitable method. Forinstance, photolithographically-patterned photoresist (not shown) may beprovided over material 60 to define locations of openings 62 and 64; apattern may be transferred from the photoresist to underlying materials54, 56 and 60 with one or more suitable etches; and the photoresist maythen be removed to leave the shown construction of FIG. 2. The etchesmay be highly anisotropic, and may be utilized to slightly over-etchconductive pedestal 46 to ensure good electrical connection to theconductive pedestal with electrically conductive material subsequentlyformed in opening 64.

Referring to FIG. 3, electrically conductive material 66 is formed overlayer 58 and within openings 62 and 64. Electrically conductive material66 may comprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions;and may, for example, comprise one or more of various metals (forinstance, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, etc.), metal-containingcompositions (for instance, metal nitride, metal silicides, etc.) andconductively-doped semiconductor materials (for instance,conductively-doped silicon). The electrically conductive material 66within opening 62 may be referred to as interconnect material, in thatsuch material is ultimately utilized to form an interconnect forelectrically coupling two or more capacitor plates to one another.

The material 66 may be formed by any suitable method, including, forexample, one or more of atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapordeposition (CVD), and physical vapor deposition (PVD). The methodutilized to deposit material 66 may form the material to fill openings62 and 64 without forming voids within the openings.

Referring to FIG. 4, material 66 is removed from over layer 58, andremains within openings 62 and 64 as electrically-conductive columns 68and 70, respectively. The electrically conductive columns 68 and 70 maybe referred to as peripheral structures.

Material 66 may be removed from over layer 58 by any suitableprocessing, including, for example, CMP. The layer 58 may function as anetch stop during the CMP to define locations of the uppermost remainingsurfaces of columns 68 and 70 after the CMP.

The column 68 may be referred to as an interconnect, and may be one of alarge plurality of identical interconnects simultaneously formedutilizing the processing of FIGS. 2-4.

Referring to FIG. 5, openings 72 and 74 are formed over memory arrayregion 5. Specifically, the openings are etched through materials 54, 56and 60. The openings 72 and 74 extend to pedestals 40 and 44,respectively (in other words, extend to storage node contacts). Openings72 and 74 may be referred to as a second openings to distinguish themfrom the first openings 62 and 64 (FIG. 2) formed over the peripheralregion 7.

Openings 72 and 74 may be formed utilizing any suitable method. Forinstance, photolithographically-patterned photoresist (not shown) may beprovided over material 60 to define locations of openings 72 and 74; apattern may be transferred from the photoresist to underlying materials54, 56 and 60 with one or more suitable etches; and the photoresist maythen be removed to leave the shown construction of FIG. 5. The etchesmay be highly anisotropic. The openings 72 and 74 may be formed to beslightly wider than pedestals 40 and 44 in some embodiments (not shown)to compensate for possible mask misalignment. The etching of openings 72and 74 may slightly over-etch into conductive material of pedestals 40and 44 to ensure good electrical contact between the pedestals andconductive material formed in the openings.

Referring to FIG. 6, electrically conductive material 76 is formed overlayer 58 and within openings 72 and 74. Electrically conductive material76 may comprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions;and may, for example, comprise one or more of various metals (forinstance, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, etc.), metal-containingcompositions (for instance, metal nitride, metal silicides, etc.) andconductively-doped semiconductor materials (for instance,conductively-doped silicon). The electrically conductive material 76within openings 72 and 74 may be referred to as capacitor storage nodematerial.

Referring to FIG. 7, material 76 is removed from over layer 58, andremains within openings 72 and 74 as capacitor storage node pillars 78and 80, respectively. Material 76 may be removed from over layer 58 byany suitable processing, including, for example, CMP. The storage nodepillars 78 and 80 may be representative of a large plurality ofidentical storage node pillars simultaneously formed utilizing theprocessing of FIGS. 5-7.

The embodiment of FIGS. 2-7 forms the openings over the peripheralregion 7 (openings 62 and 64 of FIG. 2) sequentially relative to theopenings over the memory array region 5 (openings 72 and 74); and formsconductive material 66 within the openings over the peripheral regionsequentially relative to formation of conductive material 76 within theopenings over the memory array region. Such embodiment may be useful ifit is desired to form the conductive columns over the peripheral region(columns 68 and 70) to comprise a different composition than the storagenode pillars over the memory array region (storage node pillars 78 and80). In other embodiments, the openings over the peripheral region maybe formed simultaneously with the openings over the memory array region;and a common conductive material may be simultaneously formed within theopenings over the memory array region and the openings over theperipheral region. In such other embodiments, the storage node pillars78 and 80 will comprise the same composition as the columns 68 and 70formed over the peripheral region. Even in embodiments in which thecolumns formed over the peripheral region are formed sequentiallyrelative to the storage node pillars formed over the memory arrayregion, the columns over the peripheral region may be identical incomposition to the storage node pillars over the memory array region.

The embodiment of FIGS. 2-7 forms the columns 68 and 70 over theperipheral region 7 prior to formation of the storage node pillars 78and 80 over the memory array region 5. In other embodiments, the storagenode pillars may be formed prior to formation of the columns over theperipheral region.

Referring to FIG. 8, portions of materials 56 and 60 are removed toleave surfaces of capacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80 exposed, andto leave surfaces of peripheral structure 68 exposed. Materials 56 and60 remain along peripheral structure 70.

Materials 56 and 60 may be patterned and removed utilizing any suitablemethod. For instance, photolithographically-patterned photoresist (notshown) may be provided over material 60; a pattern may be transferredfrom the photoresist to underlying materials 56 and 60 with one or moresuitable etches; and the photoresist may then be removed to leave theshown construction of FIG. 8.

Pillars 78, 80 and 68 may be self-supporting (as shown), or may besupported by one or more lattices, such as, for example, latticesanalogous to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,271,051.

Protective material 54 may be utilized as an etch stop during removal ofmaterial 56. Specifically, etching conditions may be chosen which areselective for material 56 relative to material 54.

After removal of materials 56 and 60, storage node pillars 78 and 80have exposed top surfaces 81 and 85, respectively; and have exposedsidewall surfaces 83 and 87, respectively. Also, peripheral structure 68has an exposed top surface 91, and exposed sidewall surfaces 93.

Referring to FIG. 9, dielectric material 82 is formed over the topsurfaces 81 and 85 of storage node pillars 78 and 80, and along thesidewall surfaces 83 and 87 of the storage node pillars. The dielectricmaterial 82 extends over peripheral region 7, and is formed to extendalong the top surface 91 and sidewall surfaces 93 of peripheralstructure 68. The dielectric material may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions; and may, for example,comprise one or more of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and varioushigh-k compositions (with high-k compositions being compositions havinga dielectric constant greater than that of silicon dioxide).

Dielectric material 82 may be formed by any suitable methodology,including, for example, one or more of ALD, CVD and PVD.

Capacitor plate material (which may also be referred to as outerelectrode material) 84 is formed over dielectric material 82. Thecapacitor plate material extends across top surfaces 81, 85 and 91, andalong sidewall surfaces 83, 87 and 93; and is spaced from the top andsidewall surfaces by dielectric material 82.

Capacitor plate material 84 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions; and may, for example, comprise one or moreof various metals (for instance, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, etc.),metal-containing compositions (for instance, metal nitride, metalsilicides, etc.) and conductively-doped semiconductor materials (forinstance, conductively-doped silicon).

Capacitor plate material 84 may be formed by any suitable methodology,including, for example, one or more of ALD, CVD and PVD.

An etch stop material 86 is formed over capacitor plate material 84.Etch stop material 86 may comprise, for example, silicon nitride, andmay be formed by ALD and/or low pressure CVD.

The pillars 78, 80 and 68, together with the materials 82, 84 and 86extending conformally across the pillars, form a series of projections73 having spaces 75 between them. The projections and spaces form anuneven topography across semiconductor base (or substrate) 12.

Referring to FIG. 10, a material 88 is formed over etch stop material86. Material 88 may be referred to as a second material to distinguishit from the first material 56, and may comprise the same composition, orcombination of compositions, as material 56. Material 88 is formedacross the uneven topography of projections and spaces of FIG. 9.

A planarized surface 89 is shown extending over materials 88 and 86.Such planarized surface may be formed by initially forming material 88to extend over material 86, and then utilizing CMP to remove material 88from over etch stop material 86. The planarized surface 89 may bereferred to as a third planarized upper surface to distinguish it fromthe second planarized upper surface 57 (FIG. 1). Planarized uppersurface 89 defines an even topography extending across the material 88and projections 73 (FIG. 9).

Referring to FIG. 11, a layer of etch stop material 90 is formed overplanarized upper surface 89. Etch stop material 90 may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions, and may, forexample, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of siliconnitride. Etch stop material 90 is shown to be thicker than etch stopmaterial 86; but may be about the same thickness as etch stop material86, or thinner than etch stop material 86, in other embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 12, apertures (or openings) 92 and 94 are formedthrough materials 82, 84, 86 and 90. The apertures extend to thecapacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80, and in the shown embodimentare partially etched into conductive material 76 of the capacitorstorage node pillars. The storage node pillars 78 and 80 are shown tocomprise widths 95, and the openings 92 and 94 are shown to comprisewidths 97 which are narrower than the widths 95 of the pillars. Thenarrower widths of openings 92 and 94 relative to widths of the storagenode pillars may compensate for possible mask misalignment duringformation of the openings over the storage node pillars.

Openings 92 and 94 may be formed by any suitable processing. Forinstance, photolithographically-patterned photoresist (not shown) may beprovided over material 90; a pattern may be transferred from thephotoresist to underlying materials 82, 84, 86 and 90 with one or moresuitable etches; and the photoresist may then be removed to leave theshown construction of FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 13, an electrically insulative material 96 is formedover material 90 and within apertures 92 and 94. The insulative material96 partially fills the apertures to narrow the apertures. Material 96may, for example, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist ofsilicon nitride. Material 96 may be formed utilizing any suitablemethod, including, for example, one or more of CVD, ALD and PVD.

Referring to FIG. 14, material 96 is anisotropically etched to formspacers 98 within apertures 92 and 94. The spacers line sidewalls of theapertures, and leave capacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80 exposed atbottoms of the apertures. The spacers may be considered to formelectrical isolation along capacitor plate material 84 so that suchplate material does not become shorted to capacitor storage node pillars70 and 80 when conductive material is provided in the apertures 92 and94 in subsequent processing.

Referring to FIG. 15, node interconnect material 100 is formed overmaterial 90 and within apertures 92 and 94. The node interconnectmaterial is electrically conductive, and may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions. For instance, the nodeinterconnect material may comprise one or more of various metals (forinstance, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, etc.), metal-containingcompositions (for instance, metal nitride, metal silicides, etc.) andconductively-doped semiconductor materials (for instance,conductively-doped silicon). The node interconnect material 100 may beformed by any suitable processing, including, for example, one or moreof ALD, CVD and PVD.

Referring to FIG. 16, node interconnect material 100 is removed fromover etch stop material 90, while leaving the node interconnect materialwithin apertures 92 and 94. The removal of the node interconnectmaterial may comprise CMP, and may form a planarized upper surface 101extending across the node interconnect material 100 and the etch stopmaterial 90. Planarized surface 101 may be referred to as a fourthplanarized upper surface to distinguish it from the third planarizedupper surface 89 (FIG. 10).

Referring to FIG. 17, portions of materials 82, 84, 86 and 90 areremoved from over etch stop 60 across peripheral region 7 to form aninset, or step, 102 extending to conductive column 70. Such exposescolumn 70 for subsequent attachment to other circuitry formed overcolumn 70. Step 102 may be patterned utilizing any suitable processing.For instance, photolithographically-patterned photoresist (not shown)may be provided over material 90; a pattern may be transferred from thephotoresist to underlying materials 82, 84, 86 and 90 with one or moresuitable etches; and the photoresist may then be removed to leave theshown construction of FIG. 17. In some embodiments (not shown) the etchof FIG. 17 may extend through etch stop 60.

Referring to FIG. 18, a material 104 is formed over planarized surface101 and within step 102. Material 104 may be referred to as a thirdmaterial to distinguish it from the second material 88, and may comprisethe same composition, or combination of compositions, as material 88.

Material 104 comprises a planarized upper surface 105 thereover. Suchplanarized surface may be formed reflowing material 104 during formationof the material, and/or by utilizing CMP. The planarized surface 105 maybe referred to as a fifth planarized upper surface to distinguish itfrom the fourth planarized upper surface 101 (FIG. 16). Material 104 maybe referred to as a second template material in that openings areultimately formed in material 104 to create a template for fabricationof second modules, or segments, of capacitor storage nodes. Thethickness of material 104 determines a thickness of the second modulesof the capacitors.

An etch stop layer 106 is formed over material 104. Etch stop layer 106comprises a material 108. The material 108 may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions, and may, for example,comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of silicon nitride.

The etch stop layer 106 and third material 104 may be formed utilizingprocessing analogous to that described in FIG. 1 for forming etch stoplayer 60 and first material 56.

Openings 110 and 112 are formed through materials 104 and 108 overperipheral region 7, and filled with conductive material 114. Theopenings 110 and 112 may be referred to as third openings to distinguishsuch opening from the first openings 62 and 64 of FIG. 2, and the secondopenings 72 and 74 of FIG. 5. The conductive material 114 may bereferred to as second interconnect material to distinguish it from thefirst interconnect material 66 of FIG. 3.

The openings 110 and 112 extend to the first peripheral structure 68,and the conductive column 70, respectively. The conductive material 114within opening 110 forms a second peripheral structure 118 over and inelectrical connection with the first peripheral structure 68, and alsoin electrical connection with the capacitor plate material 84. Theconductive material 114 within opening 112 forms an electricalinterconnect 120 extending to conductive column 70.

The openings 110 and 112 extending through materials 104 and 108 may beformed utilizing processing analogous to that described with referenceto FIG. 2 for forming openings 62 and 64. The conductive material 114may be formed within openings 110 and 112 utilizing processing analogousto that described in FIGS. 3 and 4 for forming conductive material 66within openings 62 and 64. The conductive material 114 may be identicalin composition to the conductive material 66 in some embodiments, andmay be different in composition from conductive material 66 in otherembodiments.

Referring to FIG. 19, openings 122 and 124 are formed through materials104 and 108 over memory array region 5, and filled with conductivematerial 126. The openings 122 and 124 may be referred to as a fourthopenings to distinguish such openings from the first openings 62 and 64of FIG. 2, the second openings 72 and 74 of FIG. 5, and the thirdopenings 110 and 112 of FIG. 18. The conductive material 126 may bereferred to as second capacitor storage node material to distinguish itfrom the first capacitor storage node material 76 of FIG. 6.

The openings 122 and 124 extend to the node interconnect material 100that is over the capacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80, respectively.The conductive material 126 within openings 122 and 124 forms secondcapacitor storage node pillars 128 and 130 over and in electricalconnection with the first capacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80. Insome embodiments, the storage node pillars 78 and 80 may be consideredto be first segments of a capacitor storage node; and the interconnectmaterial 100, together with the storage node pillars 128 and 130, may beconsidered to be second segments of the capacitor storage node.

The openings 122 and 124 extending through materials 104 and 108 may beformed utilizing processing analogous to that described with referenceto FIG. 5 for forming openings 72 and 74. The conductive material 126may be formed within openings 122 and 124 utilizing processing analogousto that described in FIGS. 6 and 7 for forming conductive material 76within openings 72 and 74. The conductive material 126 utilized for thesecond capacitor storage node pillars 128 and 130 may be identical incomposition to the conductive material 76 utilized for the firstcapacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80 in some embodiments, and may bedifferent in composition from conductive material 76 in otherembodiments.

The embodiment of FIGS. 18 and 19 forms the openings over the peripheralregion 7 (openings 110 and 112 of FIG. 18) sequentially relative to theopenings over the memory array region 5 (openings 122 and 124); andforms conductive material 114 within the openings over the peripheralregion sequentially relative to formation of conductive material 126within the openings over the memory array region. Such embodiment may beuseful if it is desired to form the conductive columns over theperipheral region (columns 118 and 120) to comprise a differentcomposition than the storage node pillars over the memory array region(storage node pillars 128 and 130). In other embodiments, the openingsover the peripheral region may be formed simultaneously with theopenings over the memory array region; and a common conductive materialmay be simultaneously formed within the openings over the memory arrayregion and the openings over the peripheral region. In such otherembodiments, the storage node pillars 128 and 130 will comprise the samecomposition as the columns 118 and 120 formed over the peripheralregion. Even in embodiments in which the columns formed over theperipheral region are formed sequentially relative to the storage nodepillars formed over the memory array region, the columns over theperipheral region may be identical in composition to the storage nodepillars over the memory array region.

The embodiment of FIGS. 18 and 19 forms the columns 118 and 120 over theperipheral region 7 prior to formation of the storage node pillars 128and 130 over the memory array region 5. In other embodiments, thestorage node pillars may be formed prior to formation of the columnsover the peripheral region.

Referring to FIG. 20, materials 104 and 108 are patterned analogously tothe patterning of materials 56 and 60 described with reference to FIG.8. The patterning of materials 104 and 108 leaves surfaces of capacitorstorage node pillars 128 and 130 exposed, and leaves surfaces ofperipheral structure 118 exposed, analogous to the exposed surfacesshown in FIG. 8 relative to pillars 78 and 80, and to peripheralstructure 68. Specifically, the storage node pillars 128 and 130 willhave exposed top surfaces 111 and 121, respectively; and will haveexposed sidewall surfaces 123 and 125, respectively. Also, peripheralstructure 118 will have an exposed upper surface 131, and exposedsidewall surfaces 133.

Dielectric material 132 is formed over the top surfaces 111 and 121 ofstorage node pillars 128 and 130, and along the sidewall surfaces 123and 125 of the storage node pillars. The dielectric material 132 extendsover peripheral region 7, and is formed to extend along the top surface131 and sidewall surfaces 133 of peripheral structure 118. Thedielectric material 132 may be identical to the dielectric material 82described with reference to FIG. 9. Dielectric material 132 may bereferred to as a second dielectric material to distinguish it from thefirst dielectric material 82 of FIG. 9.

Capacitor plate material (which may also be referred to as outerelectrode material) 134 is formed over dielectric material 132, and anetch stop material 136 is formed over capacitor plate material 134. Thecapacitor plate material 134 and the etch stop material 136 may beidentical to the capacitor plate material 84 and the etch stop material86, respectively, of FIG. 9. Capacitor plate material 134 and etch stopmaterial 136 may be referred to as second capacitor plate material andsecond etch stop material to distinguish them from the first capacitorplate material 84 and first etch stop material 86 of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 21, a material 138 is formed over etch stop material136. Material 138 may be referred to as a fourth material to distinguishit from the first, second and third materials 56, 88 and 104; and maycomprise the same composition, or combination of compositions, as one ormore of materials 56, 88 and 104.

A planarized surface 135 is shown extending over material 138. Suchplanarized surface may be formed by utilizing reflow of material 138and/or CMP.

Referring to FIG. 22, an opening 140 is formed to extend throughmaterial 138, and layers 132, 134 and 136. Opening 140 extends toperipheral structure 118. Conductive material 142 is formed withinopening 140 to form an interconnect (or peripheral structure) 144 thatextends to peripheral structure 118. Also, an electrical interconnect201 is formed to extend through material 138 to electrically connectwith interconnect 120. Interconnect 201 may be formed with processinganalogous to that described above for forming interconnect 120; and maybe formed simultaneously with peripheral structure 144.

Peripheral structures 144, 118 and 68 electrically connect to oneanother, and electrically connect to capacitor plates 134 and 84. Thus,the peripheral structures interconnect capacitor plates 134 and 84 toone another. The peripheral structure 144 may be utilized toelectrically connect the capacitor plates to other circuitry (not shown)utilized to provide and/or control voltage on the plates. Peripheralstructures 144, 118 and 68 are the same lateral thickness as oneanother, as would occur if the peripheral structures were all patternedutilizing the same photomask. In other embodiments, one or more of theperipheral structures 144, 118 and 68 may be a different lateralthickness than another of the peripheral structures.

FIG. 23 shows a view of the construction of FIG. 22 along thecross-section 23-23. The cross-section of FIG. 23 shows that capacitorplate material 84 encircles spacers 98 so that capacitor plate materialis continuous around the capacitor storage node pillars 78 and 80.

The storage node pillars 78 and 80 may be considered to be first storagenode segments or sections. Such storage node segments, in combinationwith the capacitor dielectric material 82 and capacitor plate material84 surrounding the segments, may be considered to form first capacitormodules. The storage node pillars 128 and 130 may be considered to besecond storage node segments (or sections) which are electricallyconnected to the first storage node segments through interconnectmaterial 100. The second storage node segments, together with thedielectric material 132 and capacitor plate material 134 surroundingsuch segments, may be considered to form second capacitor modules.

An individual first capacitor module, together with an individual secondcapacitor module that is directly over the first capacitor module, formsa capacitor construction. Thus, the first capacitor module containingstorage node pillar 78, together with the second capacitor modulecontaining storage node pillar 128 forms a capacitor construction 150;and the capacitor module containing storage node pillar 80 together withthe second capacitor module containing storage node pillar 130 forms acapacitor construction 152. The capacitor constructions containcapacitor plate materials 84 and 134 that interconnect with one anotherover peripheral region 7 through peripheral structures 68, 118 and 144.

In the shown embodiment, the first capacitor storage node pillarscomprise widths (in other words, lateral thicknesses) 95, the secondcapacitor storage node pillars comprise widths 155 that are about thesame as the widths 95, and the interconnecting regions between the firstand second capacitor storage node pillars (in other words, the regionscomprising interconnect material 100) comprise widths 97 that are lessthan the widths 95 and 155. The capacitors may thus be considered tocomprise two thick storage node pillars (for instance, the thick storagenode pillars 78 and 128) that are connected to one another through anarrow neck region (for instance, a neck region 160 between the thickstorage node pillars 78 and 128). In the shown embodiment, thedielectric material 82 and capacitor plate material 84 extend along thefirst thick storage node pillar 78, but not along the second thickstorage node pillar 128; and similarly the dielectric material 132 andcapacitor plate material 134 extend along the second thick storage nodepillar 128, but not along the first thick storage node pillar 78.

The first and second thick pillars of a capacitor construction may bethe same in composition as one another in some embodiments, and may bedifferent in composition from one another in other embodiments. Also,the narrow neck region between the thick pillars may be the same incomposition as one or both of the thick pillars, or may differ incomposition from both of the thick pillars. In some embodiments, thefirst and second thick pillars, together with the narrow neck regioninterconnecting them, may be considered to be a capacitor storage node.

The capacitor plate materials 84 and 134 can be considered tointerconnect with one another at an interconnect region over theperipheral region 7. In the shown embodiment, the interconnect regioncomprises a first pillar 68 which is electrically connected with asecond pillar 114 directly over the first pillar. The first pillar has asidewall 93, and the dielectric material 82 extends along such sidewall.The second pillar has a sidewall 133, and the dielectric material 132extends along such sidewall. Capacitor plate material 84 is separatedfrom sidewall 93 of the first pillar by the dielectric material 82, andsimilarly capacitor plate material 134 is separated from sidewall 133 ofpillar 118 by dielectric material 132.

In some embodiments, pillars 68 and 118 may be considered to beconductive interconnects over the peripheral region, and the capacitorplate materials 84 and 134 may be considered to comprise lines thatextend from the memory array region to the conductive interconnects overthe peripheral region. In the shown embodiment, the capacitor dielectricmaterials 82 and 132 also extend from the memory array region to theperipheral region, and physically contact the pillars 68 and 118.

An electrical interconnect corresponding to a portion of the secondpillar 114 breaches across dielectric material 82 to provide connectionbetween first pillar 68 and capacitor plate material 84; and similarlyan electrical interconnect corresponding to conductive material 142breaches across dielectric 132 to provide electrical connection betweencapacitor plate material 134 and second pillar 118.

In the shown embodiment, capacitor constructions are formed by stackingtwo capacitor modules on top of one another. In other embodiments, morethan two capacitor modules may be stacked to form capacitorconstructions. Also, in the shown embodiment, the capacitor modulescomprise pillar-shaped storage nodes. In other embodiments, one or moreof the capacitor modules may be container-shaped, or may be configuredso that the final capacitor construction is a container-type capacitor,rather than a pillar-type capacitor. In some embodiments, all capacitormodules utilize pillar-shaped storage nodes, except for the topcapacitor modules which utilize more complicated shapes of storage nodesto increase capacitive area.

Numerous advantages may be achieved utilizing various embodiments. Forinstance, some embodiments may allow a large aspect ratio to be achievedto enable creation of denser arrays of capacitors than may be achievedby conventional methods, while maintaining comparable capacitance percapacitor; with the capacitors being taller and skinnier thanconventional capacitors. Conventionally-formed high-aspect-ratiocapacitors may lean or break due to mechanical stability problems.However, some embodiments may avoid mechanical stability problems ofconventional methods by fabricating capacitors vertically in sections,with each section being mechanically stabilized before beginning thenext. Accordingly, instead of fabricating a capacitor as a 3 micron tallsingle structure (as would be done utilizing conventional methods), thecapacitor may instead be fabricated as two 1.5 micron tall modules thatare stacked on top of each other to form a final capacitor structurethat is 3 microns tall. A further advantage of some embodiments is thatthe building of a capacitor in sections may enable intermittentprocessing to be conducted between the capacitor sections. For example,metal/conductive layers may be formed to build contacts to other partsof a circuit at an intermediate step between formation of one capacitorsection, and formation of the next capacitor section.

The shown embodiment of FIGS. 1-23 forms contacts to peripheralcircuitry during formation of capacitor modules (specifically, formscolumns 70, 120 and 201 to connect to peripheral circuitry associatedwith pillar 46). This embodiment may be utilized if the capacitors getso tall that contacts to peripheral circuitry should be built inmultiple levels with the capacitors. In other embodiments, the contactsto the peripheral circuitry may be formed in processing separate fromthat utilized to form the capacitor modules.

Some embodiments include electronic systems utilizing one or more of theDRAM arrays described above. The electronic systems may include computersystems, cars, cellular phones, televisions, cameras, etc.

FIG. 24 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system 400. Computersystem 400 includes a monitor 401 or other communication output device,a keyboard 402 or other communication input device, and a motherboard404. Motherboard 404 may carry a microprocessor 406 or other dataprocessing unit, and at least one memory device 408. Memory device 408may comprise an array of memory cells, and such array may be coupledwith addressing circuitry for accessing individual memory cells in thearray. Further, the memory cell array may be coupled to a read circuitfor reading data from the memory cells. The addressing and readcircuitry may be utilized for conveying information between memorydevice 408 and processor 406. Such is illustrated in the block diagramof the motherboard 404 shown in FIG. 25. In such block diagram, theaddressing circuitry is illustrated as 410 and the read circuitry isillustrated as 412.

Processor device 406 may correspond to a processor module, andassociated memory utilized with the module may comprise DRAM.

Memory device 408 may correspond to a memory module, and may compriseDRAM.

FIG. 26 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a high-levelorganization of an electronic system 700. System 700 may correspond to,for example, a computer system, a process control system, or any othersystem that employs a processor and associated memory. Electronic system700 has functional elements, including a processor 702, a control unit704, a memory device unit 706 and an input/output (I/O) device 708 (itis to be understood that the system may have a plurality of processors,control units, memory device units and/or I/O devices in variousembodiments). Generally, electronic system 700 will have a native set ofinstructions that specify operations to be performed on data by theprocessor 702 and other interactions between the processor 702, thememory device unit 706 and the I/O device 708. The control unit 704coordinates all operations of the processor 702, the memory device 706and the I/O device 708 by continuously cycling through a set ofoperations that cause instructions to be fetched from the memory device706 and executed. The memory device 706 may include DRAM.

FIG. 27 is a simplified block diagram of an electronic system 800. Thesystem 800 includes a memory device 802 that has an array of memorycells 804, address decoder 806, row access circuitry 808, column accesscircuitry 810, read/write control circuitry 812 for controllingoperations, and input/output circuitry 814. The memory device 802further includes power circuitry 816, and sensors 820, such as currentsensors for determining whether a memory cell is in a low-thresholdconducting state or in a high-threshold non-conducting state. Theillustrated power circuitry 816 includes power supply circuitry 880,circuitry 882 for providing a reference voltage, circuitry 884 forproviding a first wordline with pulses, circuitry 886 for providing asecond wordline with pulses, and circuitry 888 for providing a bitlinewith pulses. The system 800 also includes a processor 822, or memorycontroller for memory accessing.

The memory device 802 receives control signals from the processor 822over wiring or metallization lines. The memory device 802 is used tostore data which is accessed via I/O lines. At least one of theprocessor 822 or memory device 802 may include DRAM.

The various electronic systems may be fabricated in single-packageprocessing units, or even on a single semiconductor chip, in order toreduce the communication time between the processor and the memorydevice(s).

The electronic systems may be used in memory modules, device drivers,power modules, communication modems, processor modules, andapplication-specific modules, and may include multilayer, multichipmodules.

The electronic systems may be any of a broad range of systems, such asclocks, televisions, cell phones, personal computers, automobiles,industrial control systems, aircraft, etc.

In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein hasbeen described in language more or less specific as to structural andmethodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claimsare not limited to the specific features shown and described, since themeans herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thusto be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriatelyinterpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A semiconductor construction, comprising: acapacitor storage node over a semiconductor substrate, the capacitorstorage node having a first thick pillar, a second thick pillar over thefirst thick pillar, and a narrow neck connecting the second thick pillarto the first thick pillar; first dielectric material along the firstthick pillar and not along the second thick pillar; second dielectricmaterial along the second thick pillar and not along the first thickpillar; first capacitor outer electrode material along the first thickpillar and not along the second thick pillar; second capacitor outerelectrode material along the second thick pillar and not along the firstthick pillar; and an interconnect region laterally offset from thecapacitor storage node, the first and second capacitor outer electrodematerials electrically coupling with one another in the interconnectregion.
 22. The construction of claim 21 wherein the first and secondthick pillars, and the narrow neck region, all comprise a samecomposition as one another.
 23. The construction of claim 21 wherein thefirst and second thick pillars are a different composition from oneanother.
 24. The construction of claim 21 wherein the interconnectregion comprises: a first pillar having a first sidewall, and having thefirst dielectric material extending along the first sidewall; a secondpillar over and electrically connected with the first pillar, the secondpillar having a second sidewall, and having the second dielectricmaterial extending along the second sidewall, the second pillarcontacting the first pillar at an interface; the first capacitor outerelectrode material extending along the first sidewall and electricallyconnected with the first pillar by a first conductive breach extendingacross the first dielectric material; and the second capacitor outerelectrode material extending along the second sidewall and electricallyconnected with the second pillar by a second conductive breach extendingacross the second dielectric material; a region of the second pillarbeing the first conductive breach.
 25. The construction of claim 24wherein the first and second pillars of the interconnect are a samecomposition as one another, and as the first and second thick pillars ofthe capacitor storage node.
 26. A semiconductor construction,comprising: a lower capacitor region over a semiconductor substrate, thelower capacitor region comprising a first storage node pillar, andcomprising a first electrode capacitively spaced from the first storagenode pillar; an upper capacitor region over the lower capacitor region,the upper capacitor region comprising a second storage node pillar, andcomprising a second electrode capacitively spaced from the secondstorage node pillar; an electrically conductive stem extending throughthe first electrode and being electrically isolated from the firstelectrode; the electrically conductive stem electrically connecting thesecond storage node pillar to the first storage node pillar, theelectrically conductive stem being of a different composition than bothof the first and second storage node pillars; and an interconnect regionlaterally offset from the upper and lower capacitor regions, the firstand second electrodes electrically coupling with one another in theinterconnect region.
 27. The construction of claim 26 wherein the firstand second storage node pillars are wider than the stem along a crosssection through the first and second storage node pillars and the stem.28. The construction of claim 27 wherein the first and second storagenode pillars are about the same width as one another along the crosssection.